Innovation in Audio: Dr. Blob's Organism
Innovation in Game Design: Oasis
Innovation in Visual Art: Dr. Blob's Organism
Technical Excellence: Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
Seumas McNally Grand Prize: Oasis

Oasis has been called 'Civilization without the tears.'

While the GameSpot office favorite, Dungeon Scroll, failed to win any awards in its category, it's easy to see why Oasis came away with the big prize. Any game that can take the best parts of Civilization and distill them into a faster-paced, easier-to-learn (but still addictive) strategy game is awesome, as far as we're concerned. The fact that matches are measured in minutes instead of hours also helps with the level of accessibility. The game still offers plenty of strategic depth as you work to explore your territories and set up your cities before fighting off barbarian invasions.

Innovation in Audio: Anito: Defend a Land Enraged
Innovation in Game Design: Bontãgo
Innovation in Visual Art: Spartan
Technical Excellence: Savage: The Battle for Newerth
Seumas McNally Grand Prize: Savage: The Battle for Newerth

In many ways, Savage is in a class of its own.

It would be far too cynical to dismiss Savage's award as a product of S2 Games' much larger production budget relative to the other entrants. The simple fact is that this rookie developer stepped up to the plate and smacked a home run in its first at-bat, creating a game with production values and polish that rival games made by big-name publishing houses. S2 Games has succeeded in melding multiplayer action and strategy in a manner where others, including Microsoft (with Allegiance), have failed. Most impressively, S2 Games has continued to offer close support for its product after launch, a practice that much bigger publishers and developers ignore all too often. Because it's such a solid game, and S2 Games continues to improve upon it, it's no surprise that Savage earned top honors at this year's Independent Games Festival.